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Embrace your audience’s perspective: When trying to pitch UX to stakeholders, many are coming at it from their own perspective and own perception of value. This is understandable as our own frame of reference is always the most easily accessible one. As an experience designer, you design products with people in mind, so why not consider your audience needs in this instance? Teams have their own KPIs, so think about why they need to listen. Investing in understanding the business and learning to speak this new language will enable you to compose a relevant story.

Respect your audience’s time: our time allowance in communication varies, from a short discussion in the elevator to a two hour presentation to the board - be ready to look at your own discipline through macro and micro lenses, switching the pacing and density of your delivery when necessary.

Make experience design the narrative: when you see a human being it does not occur to you to question whether they need a skeleton to function. Similarly, make sure experience design is an integral part of your narrative, seamlessly flowing from business considerations into experience strategy and user experience design, through to the final output whatever shape that takes.

Don’t be your own worst enemy: the most common mistake I see is UX professionals decreasing their own value by focusing on tactical deliverables rather than understanding the bigger picture. When UX gets diminished into ‘that wireframing bit’, very little can save it in terms of demonstrating value in the eyes of the business. UX is systems thinking - psychology, research, empathy, analysis, logic, creativity and modelling of new and better worlds - it's imperative to elevate your presentation to show the many sides of this practice.